The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) announced today that limited-edition TAP cards celebrating the city’s bid for the Olympic and Paralympic Games are now available at select Metro stations.

The new TAP cards feature the text, “Ready to welcome the world,” and references L.A.’s Olympic spirit as well as public transportation improvements to provide connections to sports parks and competition venues in LA 2024’s Games Concept, according to the announcement.

“Los Angeles has its sights set on the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and now, Metro riders can show their Olympic spirit every time they TAP,” Mayor Eric Garcetti said in a statement. “When we say we’re ‘ready to welcome the world,’ it means we’re ready to harness our historic investments in mass transit, so that we can connect fans with Sports Parks quickly and affordably, and ease traffic congestion across the city, just like we did during the 1984 Games.”

In Long Beach, the cards were made available today at the Blue Line’s 1st Street station at First and Pine.

The cards were made available at the following stations on Thursday: Expo Line (Expo Park/USC Station) – L.A. Memorial Coliseum, Galen Center, Dedeaux Field, LAFC Stadium, and Media Village/MPC; Expo/Blue Lines (Pico Station) – L.A. Live, STAPLES Center, L.A. Convention Center and Microsoft Theater; Red/Purple Lines (Civic Center/Grand Park Station) – L.A. City Hall and Grand Park; Red/Purple Lines (7th/Metro) – L.A. Live, STAPLES Center, L.A. Convention Center, and Microsoft Theater, and; Expo Line (Downtown Santa Monica Station) – Santa Monica Beach Volleyball stadium.

TAP cards at additional stations near Olympic venues made available today are: Metro Orange Line (Balboa Station) – Sepulveda Basin; Silver Line (Harbor Gateway Transit Center) – StubHub Center; Blue Line (1st Street Station) – Long Beach Arena, Waterfront, and Pier; Green Line (Hawthorne/Lennox Station) – The Forum and L.A. Stadium at Hollywood Park; Gold Line (Memorial Park Station) – Rose Bowl; Expo Line (26th Street Station) – Riviera Country Club.

“Metro already has a large, robust transit network, and by 2024 we plan to add nearly 20 miles of new rail service to our system,” Metro CEO Phillip A. Washington said in a statement. “These lines are already under construction today. We will be ready to transport spectators in a convenient, efficient manner with Metro’s interconnected transit system serving all Olympic and Paralympic sports venues.”

 

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) visited L.A. to view venues in May, followed by a similar trip to Paris. The committee is scheduled to vote on which city will host the summer 2024 Olympic Games at its convention on September 13 in Lima, Peru.

At a June press conference, IOC President Thomas Bach spoke of the executive board’s proposal to the IOC Session to award the Olympic Games 2024 and 2028 at the same time. On July 11, the IOC Session will discuss the proposal after presentations have been made by delegations from both Los Angeles and Paris, according to the Olympic Games website.

With events staged near the region’s public transportation assets, the city hopes to encourage Los Angeles and Long Beach residents to use these sustainable mobility methods to get from A to B.

“[…]LA 2024 will contribute to the cultural shift towards mobility already underway in L.A. and create an ongoing legacy of increased transit ridership,” the release stated.

 

In November 2016 L.A. county approved the Measure M sales tax to invest $120 billion in new rail lines, bus services and highway improvements, among other projects, adding to the region’s existing $40 billion investment in transportation over a 30-year period.

The souvenir TAP card release is an effort to highlight LA 2024’s alignment with Los Angeles’ long-term goals and “transportation renaissance,” meaning no additional permanent infrastructure is required to host the games. The approach complies with Olympic Agenda 2020’s Recommendation 1, which supports its sports, economic, social and environmental long-term planning needs, according to the release.

Asia Morris is a Long Beach native covering arts and culture for the Long Beach Post. You can reach her @hugelandmass on Twitter and Instagram and at [email protected].